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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Public Information
and Communication Services II (PICS II) contract is a
multiple award Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity
(ID/IQ) acquisition vehicle established to provide
communication goods and services. PICS II is available
to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),
HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVS), and on a case
by case basis, other Federal agencies.

The focus of the PICS II contract is to provide
all the necessary services, qualified personnel,
facilities and funding, not otherwise provided by
the Government as needed to perform the services.
Ten (10) small business contractors have been
awarded a contract and are available to support
the NIH. All requirements will be fulfilled under
task orders that will provide detail of the specific
services that will be required.

Customers at all ICs and offices across the
NIH may use this contract as well as the Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS), HHS Operating
Divisions (OPDIVS), and on a case by case basis,
other Federal agencies.

What is the maximum
duration of a task order issued during the life of the
PICS II contract?

The life of the PICS II vehicle is one (1)
base year and four (4) one-year option periods.
The completion of the task order period of performance
must be within 12 months after the master contract expires.

This vehicle is not mandatory; however, its use
is highly encouraged. The PICS II contract vehicle is
aligned with NIH's corporate goal to consolidate
contracts. Similarly, PICS II is structured as a total
small business set aside. Therefore, use of the PICS
II
contract may consequently support NIH in meeting its
small business contracting goals.

The PICS II contracting program is a flexible means
for NIH's ICs and offices to obtain media,
communications, and information dissemination
services and technology.

Created with community input in mind, PICS II will work
to increase effectiveness and usability, as well as
support the small business goals set forth by NIH. PICS
II
provides experienced and cost-effective personnel
through competition among qualified contractors.
Benefits of using PICS II include:

Relieves the customer of the burden of executing a full contract.

Relieves the customer from completing the Small Business Review process.

No. The logo will not be released to contractors, as that action may be perceived as the Government favouring a particular contractor. However, "PICS
II" can be identified in text format without use of the logo.

The TORP will include (1) a completed TORP form, (2) a
Statement of Work (SOW), (3) the Independent Government
Cost Estimate (IGCE) (not released to contractors), (4)
the funding memo, and (5) a Determination & Findings (D&F)
if applicable.

NOTE: For Task Orders Involving Conferences/Meetings:

All required conference/meeting forms and waivers based upon
NIH’s most recent policy guidance must be approved and
submitted prior to TORP award. If the customer does not
have the required conference/meeting form to submit initially
with the TORP, it must be submitted with the Selection
Recommendation Document (SRD)

A "No Response" statement must be submitted if a
contractor is unable or otherwise cannot perform a
requirement. This shall be submitted electronically to
the TASK ORDER Contracting Officer via e-mail copying
the PICS II email address (PICSii@mail.nih.gov).

How long does it take
to process and award a task order for the PICS II contract?

Task order timelines will be largely dependent on the
Task Order Contracting Officer's Representative. The
timeline for the PICS II Program Support Team to review and
release the TORP to contractors is targeted to be 5
business days. Task orders with special requirements or
complex orders may take longer. This processing time
begins once a complete, acceptable TORP is received by
the PICS II Contracting Officer. Incomplete or unacceptable
TORPs will require additional time for the PICS II
Contracting Officer to advise the Task Order Contracting
Officer's Representative on minimum acceptable
requirements.

Task Order Contracting Officer's Representatives will
establish a solicitation response time that will afford
contractors a reasonable opportunity to respond to the
requirement. When establishing the solicitation response
time, Task Order Contracting Officer's Representatives
should consider the circumstances of the individual
acquisition and account for factors such as the
complexity, availability, and value of the requirement.
Award announcements will typically be made by the PICS
II
Contracting Officer.

The Task Order Contracting Officer's Representative
and Task Order Contracting Officer will coordinate the
evaluation of the contractors' technical and price
proposals in order to recommend an Awardee. Fifty
percent of the technical evaluation panel chosen to
evaluate the technical proposals will have successfully
completed Contracting Officer's Representative training
before assuming their designated role. It is the
responsibility of the Task Order Contracting Officer's
Representative to ensure that contractors are treated
equitably and fairly during this evaluation process.

Based on the results of the evaluation, the Task
Order Contracting Officer's Representative will
recommend the contractor that can provide the best value
to the Government and prepare a completed Selection
Recommendation Document (SRD) describing the selection
process and providing a rationale for selection.

After the task order award is signed and
submitted by the Task Order CO to PICSII@mail.nih.gov, the
PICS II CO and COR will announce the task order award
by releasing an award letter to the winning contractor.
An award tracker is available on the PICS II website and
will be updated regularly.

Once our Task Order
CO makes an award, can we contact the contractor right away?

Contractors are instructed not to begin work until
they have officially received the task order award
and award letter from the PICS II CO. You may contact
the contractor once the PICS II CO sends out the award.

The PICS II contract type is an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ)
contract. Task orders under this contract may be Fixed-Price (FP),
Time and Materials (T&M), or Labor Hour type task orders. T&M or
Labor Hour task orders should be used only if FP type task order
are not suitable. Use of a T&M or Labor Hour task orders require
a Determination and Findings (D&F) approval from the Task Order
CO for the IC or agency. T&M or Labor Hour task orders beyond
three years will require the approval of the Head of
Contracting Activity (HCA).

1) What are the
responsibilities of the PICS II Contracting Officials?

The PICS II Contracting Officials within OLAO
include the PICS II Contracting Officer and the
PICS II Contract Specialist. These individuals
will have the authority to act as agents of the
Government under this contract. The main roles
of the PICS II Contracting Officer is receiving
the task order Request Package (TORP) packages
from PICS II customers, reviewing TORPs, releasing
TORPs to all contractors, and acting as the point
of contact for contractual issues related to the
PICS II vehicle.

The PICS II COR shall act as the PICS II Contracting
Officer's Representative for the purpose of this
contract. The main activities the PICS II COR is
responsible for are monitoring the contractor's
technical progress, interpreting the SOW, and assisting
in the resolution of technical issues.

Task Order Contracting Officers must be an appropriately warranted
Contracting Officer. These officials will be representatives
of an NIH Acquisition Office and will have the authority to act
as an agent of the Government under a particular task order.
Their main duties include submitting the TORP, aiding in evaluation
of proposals, creating and signing the Selection Recommendation
Document (SRD), and awarding of the task order.

What are the
responsibilities of the Task Order Contracting Officer's
Representative?

The Task Order Contracting Officer's Representative
will typically be the individual requiring the services
offered under the PICS II vehicle, or may be a designee
within the IC requiring the service. With assistance
from the Task Order Contracting Officer, the Task
Order Contracting Officer's Representative will
develop the requirement and will represent
the Government as the main interface between NIH
and the contractor during the delivery of services.
The main activities are working with Task Order
Contracting Officers to draft the TORP, assisting
in creating and signing the SRD, providing direction
to the contractor's management staff to facilitate
task order performance, and monitoring performance
over the life of the task order.

The PICS II Program Support Team (PICSii@mail.nih.gov) is
available to consult users of the contract. The team
will prepare and conduct information sessions to assist
customers in understanding and using the PICS II contract
vehicle. In addition, materials such as the Standard
Operating Procedures document and a fact sheet are
available on the PICS II Program Support Team's website
(http://PICS.olao.od.nih.gov).

The Task Order Contracting Officer's Representatives,
in coordination with the task order Contracting Officers,
will be responsible for the majority of task order activities
involving initiating, managing, modifying and closing
out task orders but will be supported by the PICS II
Contracting Officer.

FAR Clause 52.219-14, Limitations
on Subcontracting: Please confirm that work performed by
“similarly situated small businesses” will be allowed to
count towards the 50% work requirement under task orders
in accordance with the SBA rule implemented effective
June 16, 2016.

The SBA rule effective June 16, 2016 has not yet been
incorporated in the Federal Acquisition Regulations and
therefore, until that time, will not apply. The previous
interpretation will apply for the PICS II contract.